1. مالكتي تملكي

    النفس لن تملك

    My mistress, take possession

    of my soul—you shall not be possessed.

  2. وهي لكي اطوع من

    رعية لملك

    And it is more obedient to you than

    subjects are to a king.

  3. ان تأمري تطع وان

    تدعى بها تلبك

    If you command, it obeys; and if

    you call for it, it answers you.

  4. لم تسترين طلعة

    فيها حلى مهتكي

    Why do you veil a face

    bearing the charms of the one who lays me bare?

  5. مهلك بي يا مطلبي

    دونك الف مهلك

    Gently with me, O my desire;

    short of you lie a thousand perils.

  6. فان بعدت تحرقي

    وان دنوت تفتكي

    For if you keep away, you burn me;

    and if you draw near, you slay me.

  7. وان صبرت لم اطق

    وان خضعت تزمكي

    And if I endure, I cannot bear it;

    and if I submit, you grow angry.

  8. وان طرقت خفية

    اهلك بين اهلك

    And if I come by night in secret,

    I perish among your kin.

  9. اني لطير مهجتي

    الخلال من ذا الشرك

    How can the bird of my soul

    find a way out of this snare?

  10. عيش الخلي قد صفا

    يا قلب فاسل واترك

    The life of one free of love has grown serene;

    O heart, forget and let go.

  11. واقصد بنا سبيل من

    راح خليا واسلك

    And guide us toward the path of one

    who has gone free of love—and follow it.

  12. ما من يبيت شاكرا

    كمن يبيت يشتكي

    One who spends the night thankful is not

    like one who spends it complaining.

  13. فاخلع على العشاق ثو

    ب جسمك المنهك

    So bestow upon the lovers the gar-

    -ment of your exhausted body.

  14. وانتهز الفرصة قب

    ل فوتها واستدرك

    And seize the opportunity be-

    -fore it passes, and recover what was lost.

  15. هذا الربيع مقبل

    يصحب آل برمك

    Here comes spring,

    keeping company with the house of Barmak.

  16. يكسو لاعطاف الربا

    غلائلا لم تحك

    It clothes the flanks of the hills

    in tunics never woven;

  17. وحل في نحورها

    عقود در الحبك

    and on their throats have settled

    necklaces of intricately strung pearls,

  18. حتى كأنها بها

    مجلسنا في الفلك

    till, with these, it is as though

    our gathering were in the celestial sphere.

  19. والنرجس اصطف وما

    احسن صف الملك

    And the narcissi stand in ranks—and how

    fair the king's array!

  20. زبرجد في فضة

    في ذهب لم يسبك

    Chrysolite within silver,

    within gold that has never been cast.

  21. يرنو يلحظ عاشق

    بمدمع الطل بكي

    It gazes, a lover casting glances,

    weeping with dew in its eyes.

  22. والورد من سكرته

    على الغصون متكي

    And the rose, in its drunkenness,

    leans upon the branches.

  23. يمسك اذيال الصبا

    بكفه الممسك

    It clasps the hems of the east wind

    with its musk-scented palm,

  24. كوجنة العذراء ان

    قلت لها هيت لك

    like a virgin's cheek when

    you say to her, 'Come to me!'

  25. والنهر في يد النس

    يم كالقبا المفرك

    And the river in the hand of the bree-

    -ze is like a rumpled robe.

  26. والمغصون حوله

    دلائل المنهمك

    And the branches around it

    bear the marks of one wholly absorbed.

  27. القت شباك الظل

    فاصطاد خيال السمك

    They cast nets of shadow,

    and caught the fish's image.

  28. والاقحوان ضاحك

    بمبسم لم يضحك

    And the daisy laughs

    with a mouth that has never laughed.

  29. والياسمين عرفه

    الغض له عرف ذكي

    And the jasmine—its crest,

    tender, bears a heady scent.

  30. والطير في مغرد

    وواله مرتبك

    And among the birds are a singer

    and a love-distraught one, bewildered,

  31. في روضة كأنها

    وصف الامير منجك

    in a garden that seems

    a description of Emir Manjak,

  32. من حار في اوصافه

    كل لبيب وذكي

    whose qualities bewilder

    every discerning and clever person.

  33. بحر وفيه بالثنا

    السننا كالفلك

    He is a sea, and on it, in praise,

    our tongues are like ships.

  34. ترى العيون عنده

    البحار مثل البرك

    Beside him, the eyes see

    the seas as pools.

  35. له اكف مسكت

    مسته غير ممسك

    He has palms that perfume with musk

    his touch, withholding nothing.

  36. تفتك في امواله

    فتك المها في النسك

    They ravage his wealth,

    as oryx ravage ascetics.

  37. وفكره اهدى لنا

    وشى بلاد اليزبك

    And his thought has gifted us

    the brocade of al-Yazbak's lands,

  38. من كل بيت يحتوي

    ابنة كسرى الملك

    from every verse that holds

    the daughter of Kisra the king.

  39. مشت به لاهية

    عن نهدها المفكك

    She walked through it, heedless

    of her unbound breast.

  40. فالدر ملء مسمعي

    فيه وملء الحنك

    So pearls fill my ear

    within it, and fill my palate.

  41. ملكت رقى سيدي

    افديك من مملك

    You own me as your slave, my lord;

    I would ransom you, giver of wealth!

  42. ادركت كل فائت

    وفد كل مدرك

    You have attained every elusive thing;

    and every achiever has come.

  43. لك المعالي وعلى

    الفضل ضمان الدرك

    Yours are the heights of glory, and upon

    merit rests the guarantee of attainment.